Happy
by soulpurestevil
Summary: Harry wants his friends to be happy. HarryGinny, HermioneRemus, Ron?
1. Chapter One

**Title**: Happy  
**Author**: Soul  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warnings**: Occasional swear words. Plotting.  
**Summary**: Harry wants his friends to be happy.  
**Note**: There are seven chapters to this story.

**Chapter One**

Harry Potter liked his office, his desk was large and covered with scrolls of parchment and had quills scattered around as liberally as the circular coffee stains, his chair was rather old and battered, but so comfortable that he didn't mind when the stacks of paperwork kept him late, the walls had pictures of various wanted criminals pinned to it among varied posters of the Chudley Cannons, including the latest where Ron waved out from the lineout a huge grin on his face.

On his desk was also a small selection of photos. To his left on top of the 'out' pile stood a picture of himself with Hermione and Ron, taken in their seventh year just after they'd finished their very last NEWT exam. The sun was shining and the three of them were waving and grinning at the camera, laughing from time to time at some joke that Harry had long forgotten that Neville had told as he held the camera ready.

To left of Harry's 'in' pile was a photo taken three months ago at his birthday party, it showed him in the middle of what remained of his yearmates at Hogwarts, gathered in front of a large birthday cake with his name in bright blue icing. When he looked at this photo it made him grin, just because a few friendly faces were missing and would never return was made easier by the addition of a few of those he had once considered lost without a hope of return, that Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were laughing with Pansy Parkinson and a couple of ex-Ravenclaws to the right of the group was something Harry wouldn't have thought possible a few years back, but Harry was glad of it.

Directly in front of Harry was a photo that made Harry's heart skip a beat every time he looked at it; it was of the day six months ago that he had married Ginny Weasley. On bad days when the information coming through his office was particularly hard to swallow, or times when he spent hours recalling every gruesome detail of a scene he was called to for the records Harry would look at this particular photo and feel a wash of relief flood over him at being reminded that there were still beautiful, good things in the world, and one of them would be at their home when he finally got to leave the office to get there.

Harry looked up across his desk at that photo now, only another half-hour and he'd be meeting up with Hermione and Ron, then Ginny would join them and they'd be going to dinner.

It was a harder job than he'd imagined, being an Auror, though he was glad that he hadn't followed Ron down the road towards professional quidditch, as much as he loved his friend, he didn't like how the lifestyle was changing him and how he'd have a different girl in his bed each week purely because he now could.

Harry sighed, his friends both had relationship problems, and neither of them were as happy as he was, and though he rather wished they were. Ginny had scolded him on several occasions saying that he was just wanting everyone settled down because he was; on each occasion he would rebuff that with the fact that he wanted everyone to be as happy as they were, which would always cause her to soften.

That he wanted things different didn't change them, Ron would protest that he was happy the way he was and why shouldn't he enjoy what was offered to him, Hermione on the other hand hadn't dated anyone for around a year now, and usually seemed all right with that, her work with the Ministry developing experimental charms took up most of her time and attention these days.

Harry propped his head up with his hand and set to finishing up the report he was working on, thankfully the scene hadn't been bad, hadn't involved children in anyway, and was pretty open and shut; the Dark Wizard was currently a resident in the holding cells one floor down.


	2. Chapter Two

** Chapter Two**

Three minutes past six and Harry apparated into the Three Broomsticks, looking around he saw that Hermione was already here, and so ordered a dry white wine in addition to his pint of mead.

"Hiya Harry," Hermione greeted with a broad grin as he set the glass of white down in front of him. "Busy day?"

Harry nodded as he sat down with his pint, "Fairly. How 'bout you? What new and exciting advances to the field have your lot made today?"

Hermione smiled at the light teasing, she was well used to ribbing from Ron and Harry over her job. "We tweaked the portkey spell… sort of. It nearly worked!" she exclaimed.

"Sure it did."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Any idea when the Weasley's will turn up?"

Harry checked his watch, "Ginny'll get off work in a few if she's not held up, Ron however…" That brought a smile to his friend's face again, since taking up his contract with the Canons Ron's punctuality could only be counted on for games or practices.

"So, how're things going with Ginny?" Hermione asked this with a sly smile on her face and Harry had to resist the urge to stick his tongue out at her.

He grinned instead as he answered, "Brilliant, I mean, I'm still getting used to actually being here and having her with me still… being married is odd, you know that? Absolutely amazing, but very odd."

Hermione laughed.

"Have you ever given any thought to it? Getting married I mean?"

Hermione's smile fell a bit and she looked away as she answered, "Harry… I-" as her eyes landed on a familiar face she stopped speaking and drew her attention to her glass after looking the man up and down.

Harry reached out and placed his hand over his friend's giving it a comforting squeeze even as his eyes looked over to the bar following the direction Hermione had looked in and found the man to be someone he really hadn't expected; Remus Lupin. He was about to ask Hermione if the reason she was not dating anyone else was that she was hoping Remus would notice her when his wife's voice broke in.

"Should I be jealous?" she asked with a teasing smile. "Budge up Harry, or better yet, go and get a round in!"

Harry slid out of the booth and brushed past Ginny, placing a small kiss to her lips as he did. When he came back to them he brought Ron with him and Hermione was all smiles and laughter once more.


	3. Chapter Three

** Chapter Three**

Harry snuggled down in his bed, pulling the quilt closer around himself and Ginny. Brushing ginger curls back from her face he asked Ginny, "Do you think Hermione is happy?"

Ginny was quiet for a while, and for a moment Harry thought she might have drifted off to sleep, when she turned in his arms and gave a sad sort of smile, "Happy? Perhaps. Lonely? Definitely."

"Oh no, I don't mean it like that, it's not a friends sort of lonely, but a significant other sort of lonely," Ginny said when she caught Harry's expression.

"Heh, so if I were to suggest setting her up with someone you wouldn't object and say I just want everyone settled down like we are?"

"It would depend very much on just who you are considering," Ginny replied, curling closer to Harry.

"Remus Lupin."

Ginny's head sprang up in surprise and she looked down at Harry with a look that suggested he'd best have a good reason.

"Remember when you arrived at the Broomsticks tonight? We'd just been speaking of marriage and she totally checked him out at the bar with the oddest expression on her face. I'm fairly sure she has a huge crush on him but doesn't want to fess up about it."

Ginny hmmed and settled back down against him, "You'd best be sure before you go trying to set them up. Would Remus even see her that way even if she liked him?"

"Good point, I've no idea," Harry admitted.

After a few moments of comfortable silence Ginny spoke, "We could have a dinner party, see how they interact with each other, assess whether or not it would work."

"All right. When?" It only took them a few minutes to plan a guest list, menu and decide when it would be best to host the event, taking into account when the next full moon shone.


	4. Chapter Four

** Chapter Four**

Harry was feeling unaccountably nervous as he waited for their guests to arrive for dinner. He kept hovering in the kitchen getting in Ginny's way, and she kept shooing him out, when he'd go and check that nothing had happened to the dining room since he'd last checked, and that the house hadn't suddenly returned to it's usual state of mess.

He was just about to return to the kitchen to check on Ginny when the chime of the doorbell meshed with the chime that let him know someone had flooed in. Unsure of which guest to greet first he hesitated until Ginny called out for him to get the door and that she'd see to the floo.

He opened the door to an amused Draco, who waved his wife, Pansy, in through the door before stepping through himself and pushing a bottle of expensive looking wine into Harry's hands.

"Glad you could make it," Harry said shutting the door behind them.

Draco laughed, "Wouldn't miss this for the world, I hear you have certain _plans_ for the evening."

Harry frowned slightly, "Ginny wasn't supposed to let on."

"Pfft, everyone needs something to talk about, especially when your job is as boring as ours is," he waved the matter off as they entered the lounge where Ginny was chatting to Seamus and his partner Blaise.

Harry didn't think that being a Healer at St. Mungo's could qualify as boring even on a slow day, but didn't say so as 'boring' could quite easily be an easier substitute for 'traumatic' on some of their worse days.

It wasn't long before all the guests were there and getting rather merry as the bottles of wine disappeared. Harry had been careful to guide Hermione and Remus to seats where they would be close by each other, and could be observed without putting suspicion on his motives, he noticed though, that true to his word he wasn't the only one watching them.

By the end of the evening Harry was certain that Remus felt the same way as Hermione did, he wasn't able to say _why_ he thought that, but he was also certain that if he asked Ginny or Draco that they would agree with him. Ron and his 'plus one' of the night had just flooed home when Ginny came in with four glasses and a bottle of vodka.

"So, what do we think?" she said as she plunked the glasses down on the coffee table before dropping down beside it to fill them.

"I think that the pair of them are morons." Harry smirked when Pansy smacked Draco's arm lightly in response to that.

"What? They are! One evening of observation and I know that the pair of them are –thanks Gin – just waiting for the other to make a move or show some sign of interest blatantly missing that they already are!" Draco said accepting his glass from Ginny.

"I'm fairly certain that they are too worried about what everyone else will think to actually notice," Pansy said thoughtfully, playing with the glass in her hands.

Harry hmmmed. "But you think that if they were… pushed they would forget about that?"

Ginny nodded, "Definitely."

"And it isn't as if there are any pesky legal problems anymore either," Draco added.

"Right then, next step?"


	5. Chapter Five

** Chapter Five**

The next step as it turned out was to invite Hermione and Remus to dinner, just the four of them (Ginny had suggested inviting Ron along with his most recent plus one, but Pansy had suggested that this would give the wrong impression and also limit the amount of manoeuvring they were able to do). This was a lot harder than it sounds, and after several attempted requests Harry decided that the next time Lupin dropped by his office he'd invite him to dinner that evening and somehow drag the two women along too.

Fortunately even though the laws involving werewolves were now markedly more relaxed than they had been in previous years they still required werewolves to report to the Ministry regularly for updates and blood tests to prove the use of wolfsbane potion. Normally it irritated Harry that his friend had to subject himself to that regularly, but right now it was a good thing, because he'd been able to give Ginny a headsup about dinner that evening when he saw Lupin enter the Ministry building and was just now waiting for him to drop by for a chat as he did every time he came to report in.

It was quarter past five when Remus knocked on the doorframe of Harry's door.

"Hi Remus, come in," Harry greeted, giving his desk a quick check to ensure he didn't have any sensitive documents out.

Remus grinned as he sat down, "Another check out of the way."

Harry frowned momentarily but let the issue drop, just because he didn't like it didn't mean he could change it. He moved their conversation onto lighter topics and looked for a suitable point at which to extend an invitation.

In the end it was Remus who brought up dinner plans, "Are you doing anything for dinner this evening?"

Harry smiled thanking his lucky stars, "I am now. How about the Leaky?"

Remus nodded, "That would be good."

"You want to head over there now?"

"All right," he agreed and they were off, once Harry had shoved all his scrolls into the correct files and locked his office.


	6. Chapter Six

** Chapter Six**

Ginny, it turned out, had done her part well, when Harry apparated into the Leaky Cauldron beside Remus Ginny was already waiting at a table with Hermione whose eye's widened and skin paled when she realised who Harry had brought with him, if Remus noticed the reaction he didn't let on, and Harry felt vaguely uncomfortable as he recognised that his friend was probably subject to a lot of reactions like Hermione's, but for worse reasons.

"Ginny, Hermione, it's good to see you both," Remus said smiling lightly and taking a seat at the table as Harry leaned over to press a kiss to Ginny's cheek before sitting down opposite her and next to Remus.

Harry and Ginny had planned out topics of conversation to bring up that would interest their two friends, that would show off their likes, dislikes and force them to talk. There was a shaky moment while they were waiting for their orders to arrive, when house-elf control was brought up as an adjunct to a throwaway comment Ginny had made, but Remus himself smoothed it over by suggesting that though he thought house-elves did not want the freedom she wished to offer them, he thought that those elves who wanted wages should be allowed to negotiate for them.

As the main course plates were being cleared away by a harassed looking waitress Ginny gave Harry a hard nudge in the shin with her foot, he might have thought of it as a kick, but the significant 'look at them, look at them!' head tilt-nod distracted him from where he was surely forming a bruise.

Obedient to his wife as ever, he casually looked over to Hermione who was blushing, a dusky pink splashed across her cheeks, and looking directly at Remus, who, though not blushing, had a shy sort of smile and was looking right back. Turning back to Ginny, Harry grinned, the plan was clearly working, better than expected too.

Ginny set down her wine glass and smiled at the waitress who returned to take their desert orders, while Remus and Hermione were distracted she leant forwards and gave Harry a smile that he immediately noticed as her 'you've been very good, let's go home early, huh?' smile and added two and two and came up with four.

The waitress repeated back their orders of three coffees, one black tea, one piece of fudge cake, one slice of strawberry cheesecake and two ice cream sundaes, then left when Harry replied, "Yup, that's it."

" – So you can see why they feel it's necessary, but really, wouldn't it be better just to allow the centaurs to self govern?"

"Oh, I don't know about that, it isn't like they take full notice of anything but the movement of the stars, certainly they pay very little attention to whatever some politicians at the Ministry say they must do, so having such things on paper doesn't make much difference."

While agreeing with what Lupin had said, Harry slid his hand across the table and took Ginny's in his own. The conversation drifted on from centaurs to the Quidditch League without Harry really noticing how it got there, he was about to point out to Hermione who had responded to something Remus had said with a very sure 'no' that actually, with certain stipulations it could be a 'yes' when Ginny tugged lightly on his hand and glanced towards the exit. So he stayed silent and gave a big grin.

"Er, right, so, we'll just be leaving," he said standing up and laying down more than enough galleons on the table to cover their order.

"It was nice to see you both again," Ginny said beaming, slipping her arm around Harry and grabbing her bag up with the other.

As they headed for the exit they heard Hermione's "Pfft, newly weds." And Remus's agreement of "James and Lily were just like it." Harry was wondering whether the others might leave too when he heard "Oooh cheesecake!" and decided that really, he shouldn't worry about that.


	7. Chapter Seven

** Chapter Seven**

Harry watched as Ginny fiddled and fussed with her dress robes, scowling at her reflection in the mirror as she adjusted them over her bump.

"You look wonderful, love," Harry said, hoping that it wasn't the wrong thing to say and wouldn't start off another round of 'you're just saying that, you think I'm horrid and fat and ugly!' He came up behind her and gently took her hands off of her robes and hugged her. "Beautiful," he said again, softly and was rewarded by the scowl leaving her face to be replaced by a small smile.

"Where's the apparition point again?"

"Hermione said that it's all right to apparate directly in front of the church, they've got people in to put misdirection spells up against the muggles attending who don't know about magic," Harry replied.

With a rueful glance at her reflection again, Ginny said, "Well, I guess it's time to leave."

Harry nodded and pressed a kiss to her face, "I'll see you out front."

They disapparated with a crack to reappear in front of the church and were greeted warmly by their friends.

"Hard to believe isn't it?" Ron said with an easy grin.

"That Hermione is actually getting married?" Harry asked then answered himself with a, "Yes, it really is. It's good to see her so happy."

"Ha! We're so great," Ginny said softly causing Ron to chuckle.

"What on earth prompted you to set them up with each other?" Ron's date, no longer a mere plus one, asked.

Harry, who still found it slightly odd that his best friend should choose to settle down with their Potions Master, especially after he'd spent a good while before that going through women like underpants, hesitated slightly before answering, "I thought that they could be happy."

Snape nodded, "Perhaps we should actually enter the church?"

They trouped in and took seats together in a pew after saying hello to Mr and Mrs Granger, who seemed quite out of sorts at the fact their little girl would be married today.

Harry, who was only not Best Man because they were having neither bridesmaids not best men, made a quick trip to go and reassure the groom, who looked as he did when the full moon had just passed even though the full moon was a full two weeks away.

The service was a simple one, but sweet and lovely all the same, and Mrs Granger was sniffling into her handkerchief with a huge smile on her face by the end.

Harry noted, as he looked around the reception, that though life wasn't perfect, and he and his friends had seen a fair deal of the crappier side of life, life was good, he had a wife who loved him and a child they loved on the way; his friends were happily in love or near it, and settling down, and they were all free to be happy.


End file.
